RAG ratings are a starting point, not a verdict

A red cell on the register can feel like a failing grade. It is not. RAG ratings, red, amber and green, are a way to direct attention, and a red simply means look here first.

What red actually means

Red tells you that, on the measure in question, a pupil is furthest from where you want them to be. That could be need that outstrips current support, a gap in provision, or progress that has stalled. What red does not tell you is why. The colour is the start of the enquiry, not the conclusion.

Reading the register well

A few habits keep RAG honest:

• Treat a red as a prompt for a conversation, not an action in itself
• Look at movement over time, not just today’s colour
• Watch for ambers drifting quietly toward red, which is where early action pays off
• Resist the urge to turn everything green for its own sake

The goal is not a green register. The goal is the right support, which sometimes means living with a red while you address the cause.

Colour with context

Used carefully, RAG turns a long list into a place to focus. The risk is reading the colour as a score. Keep the context attached, and the register becomes a tool for judgement rather than a substitute for it.